Background: Urethral stricture disease is a common cause of bladder outlet obstruction that significantly affects urinary function and quality of life.

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of optical internal urethrotomy for short-segment urethral stricture and identify predictors of successful treatment.

Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted at ESIC Medical College Kalaburagi from 01-01-2024 to 31-12-2025and included 50 patients who underwent optical internal urethrotomy for short-segment urethral stricture. Demographic, clinical, stricture-related, operative, and postoperative data were collected from medical records.

Results: The mean age of patients was 46.8 ± 12.7 years, and the mean stricture length was 1.28 ± 0.39 cm. Bulbar urethral strictures accounted for 76.0% of cases. Successful treatment was achieved in 39 (78.0%) patients, while recurrence occurred in 11 (22.0%). Mean postoperative Qmax improved to 18.6 ± 4.2 mL/s, representing a mean improvement of 11.4 ± 3.9 mL/s. Patients with recurrence had significantly longer strictures (1.84 ± 0.34 vs. 1.12 ± 0.28 cm; p<0.001), were older (53.7 ± 13.2 vs. 44.8 ± 11.9 years; p=0.036), and more frequently had diabetes mellitus and previous urethral instrumentation.

Conclusion: Optical internal urethrotomy provides favorable functional outcomes for appropriately selected patients with short-segment urethral strictures